Boeing reaches out to Hill allies

Boeing suffered a blow to its multibillion-dollar aircraft program and corporate reputation in recent days, but it has one big advantage: Friends in high places, and an army of lobbyists assuring regulators and lawmakers that the aerospace company is doing all it can to address the safety problems with its 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing has powerful allies in the Obama administration and on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, sending millions of dollars each year to lawmakers’ campaign coffers and employing thousands of people at plants in Washington state and South Carolina.

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Those ties could come into play as lawmakers weigh whether to launch investigations into the Dreamliner’s troubles and the updated certification process the FAA created for the state-of-the-art planes.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, perhaps Boeing’s most high-profile champion, was expected to call FAA Administrator Michael Huerta on Thursday evening to make sure his agency has all the information it needs to carry out its investigation into battery-related fires, sources said. And Boeing engineers met with staffers to Washington state’s 12-member congressional delegation to better explain problems with the 787’s lithium-ion batteries.

“I think [Murray] wants to make sure the FAA is getting everything it needs from Boeing and that cooperation is strong,” said a source familiar with the call.

Murray, a member of the Democratic leadership team, has received about $173,000 in campaign contributions from Boeing and its employees since arriving in the Senate two decades ago. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who has chaired the Commerce Committee’s aviation subcommittee, has collected more than $100,000 from Boeing during her 11-year Senate career.

In a statement, Boeing President and CEO Jim McNerney said the company is committed to helping federal regulators and investigators get to the bottom of the safety problems. But Boeing did not respond to an inquiry about what it was doing behind the scenes to assure lawmakers and Obama administration officials it had the situation under control.

One House GOP aide said he’d be “shocked” if Boeing’s lobbying outfit wasn’t already reaching out to key members of Congress.

The Chicago-based company has paid lobbying firms $75 million during the past five years, including to some of the biggest shops in town: Podesta Group, Gephardt Group and Akin Gump. But until now, most of its efforts have been focused on its defense arm.

It’s the role of lobbyists to “communicate facts” to key stakeholders, including lawmakers “who have traditionally supported Boeing and have jobs in their districts,” said Kenneth Quinn, a former FAA chief counsel who now heads the aviation practice for law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Washington.

Quinn, whose firm doesn’t represent Boeing, called the grounding of Dreamliners an “overreaction” that damaged the reputation of the new aircraft and its manufacturer. But he warned that lobbyists “should avoid the temptation of political interference.”

“The primary focus of Boeing or any other company in a crisis of confidence like this is to address the underlying engineering and air worthiness issues to regain the confidence of your regulators,” Quinn said.